


Of Dancing Girls and Lizard Princes

by Astr



Series: AU-gust 2020 [25]
Category: Divinity: Original Sin (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Crack Fic, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, implied prostitution, implied sex work, prophecy?, sadha doesn't exist au, the red prince being grandiose and ostentatious as always, what is the plot, what is this, where is the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:49:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26171479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astr/pseuds/Astr
Summary: AU-gust Prompt: 25. Circus AUEleara is a silk dancer that performs solo for the Red Prince, who, of course, immediately demands she come home and fulfill some destiny with him.
Relationships: Female Elf/The Red Prince, Female Godwoken/The Red Prince, Original Female Character/The Red Prince
Series: AU-gust 2020 [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1853722
Kudos: 8





	Of Dancing Girls and Lizard Princes

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is either, but I have been so writer's-blocked that it's a miracle even this hokey thing came to be. I feel like no one is ever going to read it anyways so oh well. Sorry it's late.

"They say you're the finest performer at this… establishment. Not a terribly difficult feat, I must say. Some go further to say you’re the finest dancer this side of Rivellon, but I'll believe that when I see it."

The Red Prince, for he could be none other, sat, legs crossed, and leaned back. 

Eleara raised an eyebrow, but shrugged, grabbing her silks and sashes, using a drop of magic to summon her music. This was hardly her first pretentious client. Usually, they were mildly impressed by her little dance and acrobatics act and moved on, sometimes with a parting shot at her being good "for a filthy elf." Sometimes they felt they were owed more than a dance, but those were fewer these, days, and the ones that she had encountered lately had paid handsomely for her “additional services.” Not that she ever actually saw that money.

It was a living. These people paid exorbitant fees to have personal performances, and had to feel superior at all times. At the end of the day, she had a place to sleep and food to eat. That's all that mattered to her. This man, as alluring as he was, was still just a noble like any other (of any species, though lizards tended not to be as handsy as dwarves). She was merely here to provide a brief distraction from the opulence of their daily lives.

She performed her routine, complex movements that once seemed impossibly difficult to meet impossible demands, now so familiar to her body that she could get lost in her mind as she moved to the music. So she didn't notice as he leaned forward in his seat, as his nostrils flared, his eyes dilated. She didn't see the gears in his mind turning and turning. She only did her dance, focused on the silks she hung from, draped around her body, swung and spun within. 

As she finished with a flourish, he was standing and in front of her in an instant. It caught her so off guard she nearly fell, but his strong hands steadied her, pulling her into his broad chest.

"Amazing. I see now why your reputation is such. I see now why I was meant to come to this cesspool. It’s you. You must come with me."

Well wasn't this new? Most of the men that wanted her body weren’t so noble, nor so ardent.

"I… beg your pardon?"

"You have it. But I insist. I must have you."

"I… You have to arrange that with the gentleman outside, and he’ll show you to my room-"

“You think me so base as to simply want to bed you? I assure you I have never, nor will ever need to pay for such company.”

“Then what-”

“I told you. Come with me. Back to the Ancient Empire. Fulfill your destiny, my dear, with me.”

“I shouldn’t. I’m not anyone worthy of such a fuss.”

"I don't care. I want you. I need you. I feel it in every fiber of my being." He knelt, kissing her palm, scales smooth on her skin.

"Please."

She almost didn't hear it. But knew better than to ask him to repeat it.

"...why??”

He groaned, and she worried slightly that she had offended him, but this was very sudden and made no sense. He was The Red Prince, sovereign of the House of War. She was an elf who made a pittance doing silk dances in a tiny circus. There was simply no way they were meant to be anything to each other.

"Because I need you. I have needed you since I was hatched, prophesied to become great, with an exotic beauty of humble origin for my bride. That bride is you. We are meant to be together. You will be my queen, the mother of my future warriors. I can see it now, no Dreamer confirmation necessary," he purred, and stood again, running a claw gently, nearly tenderly, beneath her jaw. It was sharp but she felt no fear. It was… well.

Maybe there was something to his nonsense. Though she had no idea how she was supposed to do any of what he claimed. But she felt… safe. She rarely felt safe with anyone, even people she worked with, and especially not nobility, but here they were, his sharp claws so close to her throat, and she was… incredibly confused.

"I… I don't understand this. Or you. Or anything about how I feel right now, and that scares me. I need… time."

And with that she darted away. He didn’t follow, just watched her. For that she was relieved. But he did look disappointed. Oh well.

-

The day went on into evening, and Eleara hadn't been able to put the Red Prince from her mind. Though that was at least a little understandable, considering the circumstances. She didn’t dare tell anyone else, though, because they would either throw her out for daring to defy the will of actual royalty, or they would throw her out for being delusional. So she just went about her day, feeling both numb and overwhelmed, wondering what in the world the lizard really wanted with her.

Was he just trying to get a rise from her? Was he trying to get her alone, out of her home, to do something terrible? She didn’t know anything about him save his title: The Red Prince, of the House of War. That was all she needed to know. He was a warrior, and likely unused to not getting his way.

And she had snubbed him. Snubbed, completely, his insane offer, of being a queen, of somehow bearing his children, of being the most powerful woman in the world, it seemed.

So lost in her thoughts and worries was poor Eleara, that she ran right into someone in her haste to her bedroll after her shower (cold, as always). She bounced right off the broad chest she hit, and would have ended up a crumpled mess on the floor had strong arms not grabbed her and held her steady, then pulled her back into the warmth she had inadvertently become too familiar with in such a short time.

“Miss me already?” The voice of the Red Prince was amused, not angry as she feared.

And she laughed. She couldn’t help it, the situation was absurd. Here she was, in the arms of one of the most powerful men in Rivellon, and he was talking to her like she was… equal.

“What do you want with me, your highness?”

“Oh come now, you didn’t hit your head that hard, my dear.”

Maybe she had. Maybe she had made some terrible mistake in her routine and she was currently concussed or dying on the floor of the big top. That had to be the only explanation.

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s alright. You’ll see it. Eventually. I intend to make sure you’re happy and comfortable before anything else. Now, grab your things. You’re coming home with me. I negotiated your release with the owner.”

What??

“You… got me fired?”

“Sure, if you insist on seeing it negatively. I personally think you should be much more excited to come to the House of War as my personal dancer. You’ll be envied and adored and feared in equal measure.”

He stepped closer, cupping her cheek, and her throat went dry. She couldn’t look away. Not with how he stared into her eyes.

“You will be the mother of dragons, the greatest queen we have ever known. You will want for nothing. I swear it.”

Her mind had slowed down dangerously, and all she could think to sputter out was, “but you don’t even know my name.”

He laughed. Bright, strong, earnest laughter that rumbled through his chest and arms, into her, making her even warmer in the chilly night air.

“That is very, very true. I am dreadfully sorry I never caught it. I can’t very well marry you without knowing that, can I?”

“It’s Eleara,” she answered sheepishly, her blush surely rivaling the redness of his scales.

“Eleara,” he repeated, tasting the syllables as they passed his lips (did lizards even have lips??). 

She could only nod.

“It’s lovely. Now, dear Eleara, gather your things, alright? I’ll be waiting. Kindly don’t make me chase you again,” he chided.

All she could do was obey.

This was still obscenely weird.

She was starting to like it, though.

Eleara, mother of dragons, queen of the House of War, leader of the Ancient Empire, perhaps a unifier between lizards and elfkind. 

His voice had left no room for error. This was all to be.

She couldn’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Tomorrow or whenever I actually have any inspiration at all will be something different, hopefully. Thanks for making it this far!


End file.
